Insights in Music and Culture
Why we Move to Music: The Psychology of Rhythm and Entrainment
Summary
We are only beginning to understand that our ability to move to music is not a choice, but a biological necessity and evolutionary adaptation. Recent scientific research suggests that our ability to perceive rhythm is innate and fundamental, with benefits including better language and reading skills, boosted immune system functioning, enhanced anti-inflammatory properties that aid stress and ageing, social connection, and bonding. This article explores why we have adapted this capability and provides thought-provoking examples as to why cultures, religions, and modern music events have prioritised our need to move to music.
Music as Life Philosophy: 10 Ways Music teaches us to Live Better.
How does music help us live better? Many musicians adopt an approach to life that is based upon the lessons they learn through their music practice. Music, apart from being a series of organised sounds, can also serve as a philosophy for life that hones our skills and perspectives. This article explores ten core ways that music can be used as a philosophy for living, providing life skills that are transferable into other domains.
The Evolution of Consciousness Through Music
How can music help us uncover our highest potential? This article explores this question through the lens of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Largely misrepresented, recent studies suggest that Maslow’s highest human value was not self-actualisation (an expression of personal potential and ego) but self-actualisation, an experience beyond the ego through peak experience and communion with others. Music contributes to these higher goals by offering access to higher states, such as ‘flow’ described by Milhaly Csikszentmihalyi. Musical flow states offer a way participate in higher human ideals, moving beyond selfishness, egotism, and conformity to contribute to the evolution of human potential, health, and development.
Modern Music Rituals: What are they and why do we need them?
What are music rituals and how do they differ between cultures? This article explores the traditional role of rituals, initiations, and cults, exploring their customary symbols, metaphors, and processes. It suggests that music rituals are aspects of most cultures, including in Australia, where ritual symbols and processes are expressed through performances, such as electronic music events, to produce experiences of transformation and transcendence.
Beyond the Personal Self
How can music be used to create connection, enhance community cohesion, and increase social health ?
In this article we explore music improvisation, and how it enables us to move beyond our personal sense of self to envision a holistic musical experience.
